About

About

I’m an engaged parent. A joker, a prankster, filled to the brim with ‘Dad Jokes’ (#sorrynotsorry) and sincerely love making the most of every moment with my girls.
An attitude I like to adopt regularly is “Why not turn a chore or a bore into something special?” When I took over cooking duties a few years ago I decided to channel my creative outlet through healthy lunch creations. I started looking online for inspiration however I found it was either too hard or too confusing, so I decided to stop looking and start creating. My instagram page was born, and the rest is history.

A regular comment my wife and I receive is, how lucky she is to have a husband who does the cooking and is so hands on. I just don’t see it that way. You see, I’m a parent, I’m doing what a parent should be doing. There is no ‘wife’ or ‘husband’ duties in our household, there is only ‘parent’ duties. It’s my duty to show my girl’s the way. To light their path with my unique parenting style so that they can forge their own journey. I’m responsible for setting the standard for their future partners and this alone is enough incentive for me to continue to do what I’m doing.

Finally, I’m just a dad in my mid 40’s taking my daughters on the School Lunch Box journey with me, everywhere from live TV appearances to media coverage all over the world, including front page in Poland! We are firmly buckled in and ready for the journey to continue…I hope a book release forms part of that journey also!

Oh, and as hippy as it sounds or regardless of what people think of me, I believe in love and I believe in the glass half full approach, it’s who I am and it’s how I want my girls to remember me.

The aim

I avoid sugar and wrappers and aim to use wholesome food. My aim is to inspire parents (yes, dad’s inclusive) that it’s easy to pack healthy and nutritious school lunches for our children. By being a little creative and out there I hope that some folks find it cool enough for them to try. Most importantly there’s no sugar crashes in the afternoon which means our children can concentrate longer and their behaviour reflects their nutrition. People also refer to me as the school lunch box dad, though to my 2 daughters I’m “daddy”.

I’m also taking on the State Government of Victoria, so far so good in trying to introduce regulations into school Canteens. Watch this space.

The rest about me

I live in Geelong and am a small business owner doing my bit to make my town a better place. I love my town. I love music, Pearl Jam completely rock my world and my guitar was a big part of channeling my creativity, now I get creative in the kitchen for my girls, it’s win win.

Growing up was tough, always a struggle but the lessons learnt have made me appreciate so much that I have now. Family is everything to me.

Book me!

I’m available to hold demonstration classes, and show the tricks and tips I use to make creative school lunches and to promote healthy eating. I’ve toured Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Geelong, Melbourne, Adelaide and also the U.K. The hour and a half demonstration will change the way you look at the school lunch chore! email me HERE for more information.

I’ve hidden this right down the bottom as it is dear to my heart, It’s a post I did on Sunday April 30, 2017.

This is going to be hard, I want to explain a couple of my tattoos as they’re special to me. I’ve had a lot of messages from peeps wanting to know more about me. So here it goes! The first tattoo is the Chess piece with the King and Pawn, and my dad’s signature. Growing up as a kid, my dad insisted he teach me to play Chess, we played for years, one game lasted 6 months. We weren’t allowed to make a move until a week passed. It was my dad’s way of making me think about the game. Patience. So once a week we’d make a move, he taught me how the Queen piece can do anything, go any direction and just how important she is in order to win. Always thinking ahead of your opponent and trying to think about their moves etc. Fast forward many years and the day before my dad died he told me that the reason why he wanted me to understand Chess was his way to leave a legacy with me. He told me that the King can only move one step at a time, the King needs the Queen, she’s the most valuable piece. Then it clicked, he was teaching me life. Protect your Queen he said, whether it’s my mum, sister or maybe one day my wife and daughters. Women are the backbone and strength of most families. He died 20 years ago so he didn’t know my family as it is now. He said to think about what I say or what I do, think about the consequences to ensure people don’t get hurt. Pawns come and go, they’re like certain friends that only stick around for a bit, they won’t change the game of life, but always protect your Queen, life will be easier with her. Now I have a wife and two daughters, his analogy is permanently tattooed on me. I scanned his signature from his drivers licence and had it tattooed under the King and Pawn, which represents my dad (King) and me following his moves (Pawn). The other tattoo is a photo of my mum and dad when they started dating. It reinforces to me that love is real. I might sound like a hippie in saying this, I believe in love.